Until there is Peace
by Aykaylaka
Summary: Takes place after "Scrapheap." Arcee and Optimus struggle with their suddenly realized feelings for each other and come to an agreement on what to do. And Miko freaks over a spider. XD Plug 'N' Play. ArceeXOptimus Prime obviously


**_I got the idea for this pairing after watching the episode it takes place after. Obviously I didn't actually write it until after I saw "Predatory" because I wouldn't have know about Airachnid. Even though I got several protests via YouTube comments saying this could never be, I decided to do it anyway. So ha!_**

**_This takes place after "Scrapheap" so if you haven't seen it don't read this 'til you do. And I must also say, TRANSFORMERS PRIME IS FRAGGIN' AWESOME!_**

**_Plug 'n' Play, Arcee/Optimus Prime This is my first time writing something like this, so please tell me everything I did wrong!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of Transformers and I don't make profit off of FanFiction, blah, blah, blah, you know how this works. DON'T SUE ME!_**

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><p><strong><em>I edited this, so it reads a little better. It hasn't been beta'd or anything, but I read through and corrected mistakes i found and added a few things to make it flow better. Disclaimer stuff still stands and all that. Enjoy!<em>**

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><p>Arcee laughed a little and shook her helm as Miko ran off screeching about a spider.<p>

"Who knew Miko was afraid of spiders?" she asked, sitting up in the berth she was resting on.

She was feeling increasingly better as her core temperature returned to normal.

"Good thing there isn't such thing as a Cybertronian spider, right?" Jack asked jokingly, turning to face Arcee.

Arcee's optics narrowed and she clenched her fists.

"Unfortunately, there are…" she mumbled angrily.

She stood and started walking towards her recharge quarters, pushing away painful memories.

"What'd I say?" Jack asked, looking over at the other bots.

Optimus watched as Arcee walked away with sympathy.

"Arcee has had foul experiences with 'Cybertronian spiders'," Optimus explained.

Guilt flashed over Jack's face.

"I didn't mean to—"

"It's alright Jack, you didn't know," Optimus reassured.

He stood and started following Arcee, hoping she may talk to him. He didn't like to see her troubled.

"She'll be okay, right?" Jack asked, worry in his eyes.

Optimus looked back and nodded. Jack sighed with relief and went back to monitoring Bumblebee.

Optimus knocked on Arcee's door. There was no answer, but Optimus could hear the sound of unsteady intakes beyond the door.

"Arcee?" he prompted, "Are you alright?"

"I'm f-f-fine," Arcee's voice was shaky.

"Arcee…" Optimus sighed, shaking his helm.

Hearing her in distress tugged at his spark. Optimus was concerned for Arcee, both as a leader and as a friend.

"Arcee, may I come in?" he asked tentatively.

He heard Arcee try to steady her intakes.

"Y-yeah," she said, voice starting to return to normal.

Optimus opened the door and found Arcee standing up from the edge of her berth, rubbing her temple. Optimus closed the door behind him, knowing she wouldn't want the others to overhear what they were talking about. She smiled, lowering her hand, but Optimus could see the struggling emotions in her optics. He noticed how alluring they were, purple circles standing out among the soft blue. Optimus blinked and reminded himself to focus.

"Hey Optimus," Arcee said.

The sorrow in her voice was still slightly detectable.

"Is everything alright, Arcee?" Optimus asked, knowing the answer already.

Arcee wondered whether she should confide in Optimus or not. She knew she could, and that he would listen. He was a great friend that way. Arcee could see the compassion in his optics, and the worry. Optimus was worried about her. She sighed and realized he already knew things weren't okay, and that he wanted to talk to her about what was troubling her.

"I just… Every time I'm reminded of Airachnid, I'm reminded of…" Arcee felt choked up again and couldn't finish.

"Tailgate," Optimus said with understanding.

Arcee sobbed and collapsed on the edge of her berth again. She put her face in her hands and shook her helm. Optimus crossed the room and sat down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Arcee leaned into his side and sobbed for a while. The near death experience they'd had today had shaken her enough, and now she had to deal with the memory of Tailgate plaguing her processor. The image of Airachnid's claw tearing through his helm and severing the top half kept replaying in her head over and over, causing her to sob even more.

Optimus held her and rubbed her shoulder with his thumb in a soothing motion. He felt Arcee's remorse as if it were his own. He found himself wanting to harm anyone and everyone who'd ever hurt her. He forced those feelings away, knowing revenge was never the answer. But he still wished he could at least distract her from her pain.

"Arcee," he said, "Tailgate is now one with the AllSpark. He is safe and living in a better world…"

Arcee's sobbing started to fade to sporadic intakes.

"And, he was captured while trying to rescue you, an act of selflessness," Optimus said, "And the Ancient Texts say that anybot who dies while committing an act of selflessness will one day be revived."

Arcee looked up at Optimus, a flash of hope in her optics.

"You really believe he'll come back?" she asked, looking slightly skeptical.

"I believe that there's always hope," Optimus said.

Arcee regarded Optimus for a moment, trying to see if he truly meant what he said. She smiled at the sincerity in his optics.

"Thank you Optimus," Arcee said, "It really has been a pleasure serving with you."

"And I am very grateful that it will continue to be," Optimus said with a tender smile, "For a while yet."

Arcee felt her spark pulse with the same emotion that had popped up when she'd held Optimus's hand earlier that day. She felt a strong urge to climb close to his face and give him a tender kiss. She'd felt it earlier, when they were dying in the snow, and had dismissed it as some strange need to be close to a bot while dying, or something to that affect. But they weren't dying now. Optimus had just voiced his confidence that they would remain online for a while. So why did the urge return? Did she _actually_ want it? Did he want it too?

There was a strange silence in the room. Optimus looked into Arcee's beautiful optics and saw them struggling with another conflict, but he couldn't tell what it was. Only that it wasn't a sad conflict. He still held her close, and he didn't really feel like moving away. He willed himself to do it, but couldn't. A voice in the back of his processor reminded him that such feelings could cloud a bot's judgment. That allowing oneself to become attached to another in a way deeper than friendship could have adverse effects. He knew this, so why did he still want it? Why couldn't he just settle with being friends with Arcee? He had had feelings similar to this before and suppressed them, but after the events of today, they were even stronger. It was as if nearly dying beside her, and her nearly dying beside him, had brought his wanting closer to the surface.

Arcee could tell by the look in Optimus's optics that they were having similar struggles. Her spark pulsed with desire. She impulsively brought her feet up onto the berth and stood slowly. Her face grew close to Optimus's and he didn't pull away. He gave her an unsure look, and Arcee was certain she wore a similar expression.

Optimus's better judgment grappled with desire. Arcee was so close to him now, and he wanted her to be closer. But he knew it was a bad idea. But his desire was getting the better of him. He decided to indulge himself, just this once.

"Optimus…" she felt she should say something, but didn't know what.

Before she could figure it out, Optimus pressed his lips to hers gently. Arcee's spark started beating faster. She felt pleasure coursing through her body. She couldn't help spreading her lips a little and running her glossa lightly over Optimus's lip.

Optimus pulled Arcee closer, enjoying the feel of her body against his. His spark pulsed rapidly and his glossa slithered out to meet Arcee's. He hadn't kissed a bot since his adolescent years, but he still knew what to do. His glossa danced tenderly with Arcee's. He felt his plating grow warm and he tried to pull Arcee even closer. Her plating scraped his and he lost his balance, falling back onto Arcee's berth. He couldn't stop himself from running his hand down the small of Arcee's back to her slender legs. Arcee broke away from the kiss to let out a low moan as Optimus stroked the inside of her thigh.

Arcee was surprised at how practiced Optimus's hand was. She sighed in pleasure as he ran his hands over her body. She began to do the same, running a hand down Optimus's side. She heard him stifle groan of pleasure when her hand reached a spot on his waist, just above his hip. She tentatively pressed the spot harder and trembled as Optimus's hands tightened their grip. A rumbling moan escaped from his throat and sounded like something between a growl and a purr of contentment. Arcee smiled and experimented with this spot some more. Optimus's frame shook with delight and Arcee knew she'd found a hot spot. She felt oddly playful as she kissed a trail down Optimus's chassis. When she reached the spot, she ran her glossa over it experimentally. Optimus's back arched and he sighed with bliss. Arcee let out a small titter and bit her lip as she watched Optimus's reaction. His intakes had become more rapid and he gave her a look as if to say, "Do that again." Arcee indulged him and ran her glossa playfully over the spot. She couldn't help herself and gave Optimus a little nip. Optimus cried out in pleasure and his voice rang through the room. Arcee stopped and looked up in alarm. Optimus wore the same look. They listened for any sign that the others might have heard, but all they could hear was the sound of Miko's guitar. Arcee smiled.

_She recovers quickly,_ she thought. She looked at Optimus.

"How much time do you think we have before Ratchet makes her stop?" Arcee asked.

"Five, maybe ten, minutes?" Optimus said.

"Enough for me," Arcee said.

Optimus nodded eagerly as she crawled back up to his face and gave him a passionate, open mouthed kiss.

Optimus started running his hands over Arcee's lithe, slender body again. He loved the feel of her, the taste of her glossa, and the sound of her moans as he touched certain spots. He loved the way she'd touched his side, the way she kissed him. His spark pounded as she ran her hands over his chassis. He was glad for Miko's loud music, as his moans and groans, and occasional cries weren't always low in volume. His intakes were very fast as he tried to cool himself. Electricity sparked between himself and Arcee as she moved around on top of him, trailing kisses and nips here and there. He finally couldn't take anymore and slid his lower plating open. Arcee gave him an alarmed look.

Arcee had played before, teased more like it, but she'd never actually interfaced a bot. She was suddenly wary.

"Optimus, I—"

"It's my first too," Optimus said, looking just as wary as she was.

Arcee was somewhat surprised at this. The whole time Optimus had seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing. Then again, so had Arcee, and she'd never fully interfaced either. Knowing it was Optimus's first made her more confident. Optimus seemed to pick up on this as he stroked up her thigh to her lower plating. Arcee's intakes hitched as he moved it aside gently.

Optimus paused before continuing, regarding Arcee. She'd tensed up and Optimus feared he had hurt her somehow. But it appeared he didn't, as she was looking at him with desire.

"Don't stop," her voice was full of lust.

Optimus didn't need to be told twice. He gently brushed his fingers around the edges of the opening, then into the mesh. Arcee groaned and clawed at his chest, leaving long, painful yet delightful scratches down his chassis. Optimus found her cable and carefully pulled it out. Arcee moaned some more, much to Optimus's pleasure, and then she started feeling around his open panel. Optimus shuddered in delight as she did so, and when she found his cable he had to bite down a cry.

The two bots held one another's cables and exchanged a wary look. But as they each looked into the other's optics, they found trust and courage.

Arcee guided Optimus's cable to her port. It was a tight fit, Optimus being a much larger bot than she, but it felt good in a strange way. Arcee felt a flood of energy from the connection and cried out Optimus's name in ecstasy. She found herself again grateful for Miko's love of heavy metal.

Optimus connected Arcee's cable to his port and immediately felt the most intense pleasure of his life-cycle. His intakes stopped all together as he and Arcee both overloaded. Arcee collapsed onto Optimus's chassis and lay there, motionless except for her rapid intakes. Optimus's intakes quickly resumed and he undid their connections sliding Arcee's plating back into place as well as his own. He placed a hand on Arcee's back and she looked up at him with a tired, happy look. They exchanged one more tender kiss before they both fell into recharge.

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><p>Arcee woke to see Optimus turning away from her berth. She sat up quickly and swung her legs over the edge. She looked up at Optimus frantically.<p>

"How long have we been in recharge?" Arcee asked.

"A few mega-cycles," Optimus said, "Ratchet came in to check on you just after I woke and laid you down."

Arcee looked up at him in panic.

"Don't worry, I told him you fell asleep after we talked and that you were feeling fine," Optimus said, "He went back out to the main room just a few minutes ago. And he didn't notice the marks you left."

Arcee sighed in relief.

"Sorry about that," she said, face flushing a little.

There was an awkward silence for a while. Optimus sat down beside Arcee and took her hand in his for the second time that day.

"Arcee…" Optimus began.

"We can't do this, can we?" Arcee looked up at Optimus with sad understanding.

"I'm afraid not," Optimus said, spark growing heavy, "I… It would just…"

Optimus didn't know what to say.

"It would make things difficult," Arcee finished for him.

Optimus nodded. He looked into Arcee's enticing optics and was saddened. He should never have interfaced with Arcee, knowing that they couldn't be anything more than friends. Optimus wanted their relationship to be more, but in the universe they lived in currently anything more would be foolish. Just something to cloud judgment, something they both needed to be clear.

Today would be the first, and last, time that they could be together as lovers. It was something they both knew, both accepted. They both knew it should never have happened, but didn't feel remorse.

"I do not regret what happened today," Optimus said, "Not any of it."

Optimus was even glad they'd been stuck in the ice together. It had been nice to be on a mission alone with Arcee. It had brought these feelings to the surface, and allowed them to have one wonderful moment together.

"Nor do I," Arcee said.

She'd enjoyed their day together just as much as Optimus did.

They shared one last kiss, even though Optimus felt they shouldn't, that it would just make things more difficult. But the fact was it didn't. It was like a tender goodbye to a path they both wanted, but knew they could not travel. Optimus felt like part of his spark was being taken away, and Arcee felt the same. Arcee felt like sobbing again, but as her fingers intertwined with Optimus's, the feeling went away and she accepted what would happen when Optimus walked out her door. Optimus accepted it too, and slowly pulled away. He stroked Arcee's face and branded the loving look in her optics into his processor. Arcee did the same. Then Optimus stood and backed away, slowly releasing Arcee's hand, and walked out the door. Arcee sighed and put the hand Optimus had released over her spark chamber. She felt a faint glimmer of hope that one day they might achieve peace and be able to travel the path they were currently turning away from.

Optimus paused outside Arcee's door and sighed, feeling the same hope sparkle inside his spark. He decided to hold on to it, while letting everything else that had transpired in Arcee's quarters go.

"One day," he said quietly to himself, "When we have peace…"

Then he walked back to his quarters to buff out the marks Arcee had left on his chassis.

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><p><em><strong>There. For all the anti-ArceeXOptimus people, I made it somewhat plausible. <strong>_

**_So what do you think? (she asks nervously) Please leave a review and tell me everything you like or hated! Thanks for reading._**

**_And if you read this and you don't go participate in the poll on my profile, I will go crazy and stop posting chapters of my other stories! This is a critical poll so go go go!_**

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><p><strong><em>Seriously, GO TAKE THAT POLL! I NEED MORE VOTES!<em>**


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